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3 Rutherford County EMS directors leave in shakeup




A Rutherford County EMS ambulance sits ready at one of the service’s centers recently.JASON M. REYNOLDS

A Rutherford County EMS ambulance sits ready at one of the service’s centers recently.JASON M. REYNOLDS

A major shakeup has taken place inside the Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services, with at least three administrators leaving the ambulance provider.

Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron described the departure of EMS Director Mike Nunley as a retirement. Nunley, who has been with the program since its creation in the 1970s, will retire as of April 15, Ketron said. Nunley was on vacation and unavailable for comment at press time.

Ketron told the Murfreesboro Post there were details he could not discuss yet, but he envisioned “a new direction for public safety,” drawing inspiration from emergency operations in Williamson and Sumner counties.

However, Rutherford County Commissioner Pettus Read confirmed EMS Deputy Directors Randy White and Joe Haffner are leaving as well. He did not say when they will depart or if they are retiring. White and Haffner could not be reached for comment.

Ketron

Ketron

When asked who would operate EMS in the meantime, Read said, “It will operate as we have been operating. We’re not getting rid of any paramedics or EMTs. We’re just making a change in leadership. We plan to continue as we have been doing.”

Regarding the reasons for the leadership shakeup, Read said those are changes that seemed to be needed. He praised the number of years Nunley worked for the county and his effort to create an “outstanding ambulance service.”

“We’re just seeing a different way to go,” Read said.

Ketron spoke of restructuring public safety with such options as investing in a new radio communication system for first responders as well as placing city and county dispatchers in one center, which is called “co-locating.”

“If we’re looking at restructuring public safety and all those first responders, now’s the time to look at that,” Ketron said.

The EMS personnel changes come after the Murfreesboro City Council and Mayor Shane McFarland said Nunley and EMS directors were difficult to work with. The council also complained about what they said were unsatisfactory ambulance response times and EMS not wanting Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department to respond to medical calls despite many firefighters being trained responders. The comments were made at a council workshop meeting on March 13 when the mayor called for the creation of a city ambulance service staffed by the fire department.

McFarland

McFarland

McFarland said during the meeting that Ketron “could not be better to work with.” But the RCEMS is “the opposite,” he said, adding he believes the directors are opposed to change and are concerned about “turf.”

McFarland and the council asked city staff to look into an ambulance program that would operate out of the Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department stations.

McFarland told the Murfreesboro Post he would like to find ways the city and county can partner together to provide services.

McFarland said, “Mayor Ketron has been instrumental in wanting to partner with the city. I have three kids, and at the end of the day, when someone calls 911, I don’t care who it is that shows up, whether it’s Rutherford County EMS or if it’s the Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department, I just want whoever can get there the quickest.”

When asked if there have been emergency response delays because of jurisdictional issues, Ketron said, “Yeah, there has been. That’s why we’ve been talking with the city about co-locating.”

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